An Introduction of Fong Swee Suan

Fong Swee Suan, 76, is a legendary figure among workers in Singapore from the 1950s to the 1960s era. He played an important leading role in the trade union movement and the anticolonial struggle in Singapore, earning him the enmity of the British colonial regime and its supporters.

He was the Secretary General of the Singapore Bus Workers Union, which explains how he became involved in the Hock Lee Bus Riots in 1955, where workers demanded better working conditions.Together with Lim Chin Siong and other trade union leaders in Singapore, Fong Swee Suan was among the members of the People’s Action Party (PAP) in 1954 and also helped to mobilize workers’ support for the PAP. He was educated in Chinese in the Chinese High School in Singapore.His Contribution to Singapore

After he left school in 1950, he became a Secretary in the Singapore Bus Workers’ Union. He was then promoted to a higher position in April 1953. He met Lee Kuan Yew for the first time in 1954, through a friend.On 21st November 1954, PAP was officially opened. Fong Swee Suan was also elected as a committee member.

In May 1955, he initiated and lead in the Hock Lee Bus Riot.The strike was rumored to be instigated by pro-communists. However, it was more likely to have been fanned by anti-colonial sentiments. Singapore had just held a Legislative Assembly Election on April, and the Labour Front led by David Marshall formed a minority government after winning a narrow victory. Fong Swee Suan and Lim Chin Siong, two anti-colonial leaders of SBWU, felt that the labour front was still controlled by the British. Violent as it was, the riots were an opportunity to fight for independence and self government. Fong Swee Suan later made a public apology to express the regret for the violence which got out of hand. 'We express our deep distress at the violence used against the buses of the Hock Lee Bus Company and the police.'

On the 18th June 1960, Wang Yong Yuan challenged to be a leader of a party. So Fong Swee Suan, together with other communist parties, supported the Central party.
After Fong Swee Suan criticized the manpower policy in PAP, he was transferred to become a politic secretary of the deputy prime minister’s office.July 1961, he objected to the idea of merger with Malaya. He broke off from PAP because of this1 objection. September 1961, he was appointed as the Singapore Socialism. At the same time, he was also the advisor of many other parties.

On 1970, he moved to Johor and became a branch manager of De Cheng Machinery Pte Ltd. On 1976, he set up You Lian Machinery Pte Ltd. The business involved heavy machinery and estate investments. On 1991, he got his Bachelor of Arts from Kensington University.

He retired on 1996 and continued on an arts research and got an MBA and a PhD degree from another university.

From all these, we can see the effort tat he had made in trade union movements...He also prevailed by showing his leadership abilities.Although he may not be seen as hero,we know the contributions tat he had made towards Singapore.^_^

Grp Members:Me(Yuxiang),Heng Ming,ZhengJie and Dunno stil got who...^_^

Commenting on group 4

Detailed presentation with specific facts and elaboration on the questions given.Good contextual knowledge and research given was organized by going through the background of Elizabeth Choy. words which bring out tortures Elizaberth Choy had gone through while being held captive for more than 200 days and subjected to starvation diet and repeated torture.Lack of concluding sentence.

Commenting on group 1

Very detailed presentation with specific facts and elaboration on the questions given.Able to give the point and elaborate further with evidence given. Good contextual knowledge and research given was organized by going through the background of Lim Bo Seng and then the tortures and hardships he faced. Used words which bring out the seriousness of the tortures and qualities Lim Bo Seng has. One thing to note would be to improve the abrupt ending by including a concluding sentence.

Lt. Adnan bin Saidi of the Malay Regiment

Hero’s are people who are able to demonstrate leadership, able to stand fast against difficult circumstances, and excel in a certain quality, to rise above the expectations of others. An ordinary person can be a hero, in difficult situations, where others has either no will or no hope to prevail, and that person has the courage, determination and willpower to persevere. A person not necessarily has to succeed in something to be considered a hero. If that person demonstrates his noble intentions through his actions, people will also consider him a hero, a martyr if he fails, but a hero nevertheless.

Firstly, the will to succeed is the most important. A person may be very smart, have resources and favours may be on his side. However, if he quails at the slightest difficulty, he will never succeed. Therefore, his determination is the most important factor in being a hero.

In most of the situations where a hero rises from, it is the ability to demonstrate leadership that is the most important. Although there is no exact definition of leadership, the basis of leadership is making the right choices, and guiding the team through a task or event. To have good leadership skills, one must first take the initiative to do what is correct, not only considering himself but also the whole team’s benefit from that decision. A wrong choice, however, will not only affect the whole team, the blame will be primarily on the leader. This brings us to Adnan bin Saidi and how he was considered a hero from his actions.

Adnan bin Saidi, (1915 - 14 February 1942), was a Malayan soldier of the 1st Infantry Brigade which fought the Japanese in the Battle of Singapore. He is regarded by Malaysians and Singaporeans today as a hero for his actions on Bukit Chandu.

Opium Hill or Bukit Chandu in Malay was named after an opium-processing factory located at the foot of the hill. This was also where C Company of the Malay Regiment made their final stand against the Japanese attack. Opium Hill was a key defence position for two important reasons. It was situated on high ground overlooking the island to the north; and secondly, if the Japanese gained control of the ridge, it gave them direct passage to the Alexandra area. The British army had its main ammunition and supply depots, military hospital and other key installations located in the Alexandra area.

Adnan led a 42-strong platoon from the Malay Regiment in the defense of Singapore against the invading Japanese. They were holding part of the defenses of Bukit Chandu. He and his men would take the brunt of the Japanese assault. The Malaysians had very little ammunition, few heavy weapons, they were impossibly outnumbered, and they had absolutely no hope of receiving any type of reinforcements or resupply.

It wasn’t long before the Japanese made contact, beginning their attack by shelling Opium Hill with more mortars and artillery. Once the defenders’ positions had been sufficiently blown up, the Imperial Infantry began their assault up the ridge. Armed with little more than their service rifles, the Malay troops valiantly tried to fight off the Japanese onslaught, but soon were overpowered. Eventually the tide of Imperial troops broke through the Malaysian ranks and the two forces fell into brutal hand-to-hand combat. Then, Adnan bin Saidi ordered his men to fix bayonets and charge the enemy head-on. Company C jammed their bayonets on the ends of their rifles, and rushed forward at the Japanese, impaling anybody they came. The tactic worked – the Japanese lines were broken and the survivors were driven back down Opium Hill to regroup.

From this, we see his situation. Most commanders would have despaired in those circumstances. With little man, little ammunition and poor weapons, chances of fighting against the Japanese and even surviving the first onslaught was extremely slim. However, Abdul didn’t give up. He bravely stood his ground when he and his troops were outnumbered. When the Japanese troops broke through their ranks, he demonstrated his leadership and ability to think fast by devising a plan to break the lines of the Japanese and force them to with draw.

From that encounter, we can see him fulfilling the conditions to be a hero. He showed great determination and perseverance in the face of the enemy, and he also prevailed by showing his leadership abilities and worked with what little he had to defeat the Japanese. He succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations and proved himself a true hero.

Group 2

Theodore

Siew Han

Nicholas

Jet

Hashen

Samuel

Lim Bo Seng

During the Second World War, Lim Bo Seng participated actively in activities organized by the Nanyang Federation to boycott Japanese goods and raise funds for the Chinese army. On 01 February, Lim left Singapore and traveled to Sumatra with other Chinese community leaders and made his way to India later. He recruited and trained hundreds of secret agents through intensive military intelligence missions from China and India. He set up the Sino-British guerrilla task force Force 136 in the mid-1942 together with Captain John Davis, where he was then involved in Operation Gustavus.

Lim Bo Seng was eventually captured by the Japanese under Marshal Onishi Satoru at a roadblock in Gopeng. Lim was taken to the Kempeitai headquarters for interrogation and he refused to provide the Japanese with any information about Force 136 despite being subjected to severe torture. Instead, he protested against the ill-treatment of his comrades in prison. He fell ill with dysentery and was bedridden by the end of May 1944. Lim died in the early hours on June 29, 1944. He was later buried behind the Batu Gajah prison compound in an unmarked spot.

After the Japanese surrender, Lim's wife, Gan Choo Neo, was informed of her husband's death by the priest of St. Andrew's School. Gan travelled with her eldest son to bring her husband's remains home later. A funeral service was held on 13 January 1946 at City Hall to mourn Lim's death. Lim's remains was transported in a coffin to a hill in MacRitchie Reservoir for burial with full military honours. Lim was posthumously awarded the rank of Major-General by the Chinese Nationalist Government.

Group members: Malcolm, Lyon, Joshua, Kai Yi, Kai Hong
Source: Ask.com encyclopedia

Group 5: Lim Chin Siong

1. Post

A hero is someone of remarkable gallantry and nobility, someone who does not arise with intentions of doing so. They become one solely because of their actions of valor and selflessness in times of difficulty. These people do what they think is right, and for the good of others.

Lim Chin Siong, a heroic figure in the postwar era, was dedicated to the continuation of his cause of the People's Action Party. Despite being branded a Communist (by past and present people), he never acknowledged this statement. He had helped to build and lead the PAP together with Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, allowing the party and himself to prosper. Nevertheless, he was 'wiped out' as a person who held the position in the Left Wing of Barisan Sosialis. Under Operation Coldstore, the entire left wing was decapitated and arrested. The rapid downfall of him was caused by his jail term and the snap elections held, after his political life was destroyed.

What was most shocking was that he died as a hero who is forgotten by Singaporeans today, despite his commitment to Singapore's development.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lim_Chin_Siong

2. Responding to the post of another group

Failure to submit due to Group 6's missing post.

Group 5
Lee Geng Yu
Foo Cher Siang, Ryan
Lin Weixuan
Ryan Tan Wei Keat
Sean Yeow

Elizabeth Choy

Although WWII was a time for heroes, where the issue of heroines are concerned, there can be only be one name and that is of Elizabeth Choy. Elizabeth Choy was born in Kudat in North Borneo and received her formal education at an Anglican missionary school in Sandakan before continuing her studies in Singapore's Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus at Victoria Street. Despite being very bright, she sacrificed her opportunity to further her studies at a tertiary level to take care of the well-being of her younger brothers and sisters.It was this selfless quality in Elizabeth Choy that made her a war heroine. During the Japanese Occupation, Elizabeth worked as a canteen operator with her husband at a hospital (currently Woodbridge Hospital) where her selfless and sacrificial quality would lead her to secretly provide food, medicine, money, messages and radios to the British internees held at the hospital. She was eventually arrested by the Japanese Kempetai together with her husband. Despite being held captive for 200 days and subjected to starvation diet and repeated torture, she never admitted to being a British sympathiser. After the war, her sacrifices were acknowledged by the British government and she was recognised as a war heroine.

Group 4 : Boon Kia and gang

Source: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_816_2005-01-25.html